Imagine two men facing each other, pointing past one another. One is pointing at a tornado that is coming, and the other at a raging fire headed towards them. Each sees their own truth and is angry at the sight of the other’s hand. Each feels that the other’s hand is “wrong.” This may seem silly, but replace the tornado and fire with any modern issues, and the hands with words, and this scene describes how we often try to communicate.

We point past each other with our words, arguing as though we are looking at the same facts and experiences. We want to prove our words are the right ones, instead of learning to look at what the other’s words are pointing at. Words are seductive, and for all their undeniable usefulness, they also can lead us away from understanding when we focus on them, when we make them more important than the truth they are meant to point at.

There Are No Words To Live By

This isn’t just about communication with others. We focus on, and get trapped in a net of words that we use to explain the world to ourselves. We call things “right” or “wrong” for example, according to how they compare to our “definitions.” Unlike mathematics, though, word formulas and definitions can never be so precise. They cannot encompass the whole truth of reality. For example, with the least effort, you can create a circumstance where “stealing” would be right, and “helping” someone wrong.

This isn’t an argument against using language or logic. It is just that both only go so far. Like a car that takes you across the country or world, they are useful, but like a car, they are only useful in certain ways, and you have to get out of them when you arrive at your various destinations. Taking a car to the lake isn’t a problem, but taking it into the lake is. This is what we do when our words and logic take us to dangerous situations.

Can having words to live by be dangerous, though? Absolutely. I once heard an otherwise compassionate person say he was against animal cruelty laws because he couldn’t find a logical and defensible set of words to defend them. If he saw a new machine, would he refuse to believe it existed until he could explain it and describe it? Reality, and the reality of right and wrong exist outside of words – they are not the words themselves.

I watched a man say on the evening news that we have the right to drop a nuclear bomb on Iraq, and that we should. As he explained why, you could see that whatever compassionate impulses he had, they were over-ruled by his total allegiance to his words, logic, and where these take him. It never occurred to him that maybe there is truth outside of his words and logic.

It’s great to have guidelines, like “don’t lie,” or “we have the right to defend ourselves.” It is even better to remember that these rules will someday fail us, and we will have to make new ones. Words are just tools. There are words to die by, but there are no words to live by.

Words To Live By? is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Another thing to keep in mind is the lawyer must be ready to take your case to the court. This is because most lawyers would prefer an out of court settlement and in this case, you will not get your fair due. You also must be sure that the lawyer you choose actually fights your case for you. In many caes, you meet a lawyer to discuss your case, but when the real work begins, the assistants or the paralegals take over. You don’t want that.

Don’t get carried away with the flashy campaigns that some lawyers use for advertising. Before settling for a lawyer, try to find out their success rate and whether he or she is personally willing to fight your case for you. This is extremely important because ultimately, it is the insurance companies that are going to pay. If they know that your lawyer is not going to compromise, they wont use any sort of pressure tactics.

Atlanta accident lawyers can be found through a referral service provided by Georgia State Bar Association, the county bar association and other professional law associations. Information is also available in the yellow pages or through search engines like Google and Yahoo on the Internet. You can check advertisements of law firms in magazines and newspapers. Friends and family members are also excellent sources of information.

Atlanta Accident Lawyers is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Learning an additional language is beneficial in many ways. You can easily communicate in other language and express your thoughts, ideas and opinions in a different language. Some languages help in strengthening your interaction with others and you can increase your dealings and businesses to get better profit.

Foreign languages are not easy to learn. A person needs to work hard on vocabulary, grammar, and expressions to get the basics correctly. Here are some tips that help you to get learn a language faster and easily:

1. Spend More Time

To grasp a language in a perfect manner, you need to spend more time on the language. You need to read different books written in your preferred language. Listening to music and conversation in that particular language will help you to get correct pronunciation and usage. Take foreign language help if you face any difficulty. You can also practice it by conversing it with people.

2.Computer Programs

If you enjoy learning with multimedia programs on the computer, there are several different brands that you can use. Most combine visual flashcard-type lessons or video with the ability to practice speaking the language using a microphone. An excellent example is Rosetta Stone software. They use a total immersion method, which can be a little frustrating at first but if you stay with it, you will see your comprehension develop.

3. Travel Abroad

Taking up frequent trips to different countries of the world will help you to understand their practices and culture. You can see and understand their values, traditions and importance of language attached to it. Sometimes you may come across the native tongue of a particular area and learn few words.

4.On-Line Programs

There are many programs for learning a second language on-line. This gives you the advantage of being able to study from any computer and gives you immediate access. Rosetta Stone has an on-line version. There are also many language reference and dictionary websites.

5.Learn the Essence of the Languages

Languages are the essence of a persons existence. It is the perfect medium to share your mindset with others and gives you a chance to analysis others’ thoughts and actions. It is difficult to survive without any language, so value it and learn it thoroughly.

6.Audio Programs

If you don’t have a computer or prefer to learn while doing other things like sitting in rush hour traffic, an audio program may be best for you. I recommend the Pimsleur programs. They combine an instructor with native speakers that let you hear a word or phrase and then give you a chance to repeat it. In fact, you may get sick of repeating it but you will learn it.

7.Complete Immersion

By far, the best way to learn a language is by living in a country that speaks the language. Of course you will still need to use one or more of the above methods but if you can do it while living around people who speak the language, you will learn much faster and speak better. No matter how good the program or class is, it is not exactly the same as actually living the language. You may not be able to actually move to another country but if you can spend 2 weeks to a month studying there, it will be well worth it.

Foreign Language – Tips To Improve Your Foreign Language Skills is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Under this initiative, the coursework structure and teaching methods of 50 high schools will be transformed. The goal is to give all students access to a high quality education, while keeping them motivated throughout their high school years. Courses will be offered to capture student interest, while providing them with the knowledge needed to graduate and go on to college or another form of post-high school education. The initiative also will provide teachers who are well prepared and able to inspire these young people with a love of learning and desire to excel.

Like many other large urban districts, traditional high schools in the Chicago schools struggle to provide challenging and relevant coursework with the personalized instruction necessary for all students. Currently in the Chicago schools, only 47 percent of graduates go on to college, while 46 percent of 9th graders dropout before graduation. Many of those who continue on to college find they need remedial classes to cover content they should have mastered in high school.

The Gates Foundation chose Chicago schools to be one of the first big cities to meet this challenge for todays youth. The Chicago schools were eager to partner in this endeavor.

Initially, Chicago schools will implement the transformation plan with 14 high schools, starting with the 9th grade. The redesign initiative then expands to other grades and to 36 additional high schools over the next three years. The initial 14 schools are:

Bowen Environmental Studies Team (BEST)
Carver Military Academy
Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville
Clark Academic Prep High School
Crane High School
Dunbar Vocational High School
Dyett High School
Fenger Academy High School
John Hope College Preparatory High School
Kenwood Academy
Wendell Phillips High School
School of the Arts, South Shore Campus
Mose Vines Preparatory Academy at Orr Campus
George Washington High School

The goals of the broad redesign initiative are to improve classroom instruction, provide more options and opportunities for students and their parents, and to make Chicago schools performance more accountable to parents and the community. The five most significant challenges to be addressed by the Chicago schools are strengthening the curriculum, increasing rigor and relevance of coursework, adding depth to course content, improving professional development, and providing better school-based support.

The curriculum areas of focus are English, mathematics and science with teachers providing more instructional support in these subjects. A new school accountability tool for parents is the scorecard. The card tracks a schools performance in areas, such as graduation rate, school climate, teacher information, and student achievement. One area of improvement of benefit to teachers, students and parents, alike, is the recruitment of and professional support for high quality principals for the Chicago schools.

The initiative is one of the most thoughtful and comprehensive approaches to high school reform in the nation with its aim of raising expectations and preparing every student for success after high school.

The initiative gives Chicago schools the potential to significantly impact the quality of education students receive in high school and put them on the right track to succeed after graduation.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Invests $21 Million in Chicago Schools is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

When entering business world, you will find many new vocabularies and term that you never know before. Thus, you need to follow business english course. Perhaps one of the hardest parts is learning grammar. When you can speak English, the people understand your message is already good. But, you need to follow grammatical rules when writing English. If not, people will not see that you are not professional.

You need to follow English course for specific business purpose. It will help you to improve your English faster. You will get a great assistance from experienced lecturers. It is a good idea if you also invite your friends in the office to have same course. By doing so, the topic can be focus to the relevant things that you face every day in the office.

Never Stop Learning English is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

One of the best things about home schooling is you can come up with an educational plan that suits your child’s particular needs. By working one on one with a child, you can create an individual learning system that can be more beneficial then the learning techniques used in a public or private school. When coming up with an individual education plan for your child, make sure you place focus on reading.

Much of the philosophy of homeschooling is about not being subject to the limitations of the public school system, and an area where the public school system commonly falters is in reading. Many public school students perform poorly on standardized reading tests, which is unfortunate as reading skills are crucial to a child’s education.

Reading can’t really be emphasized too much when homeschooling your child. While there should be a good balance of subject areas taught throughout the teaching day, reading should be encouraged during your child’s free time. While it may be difficult to get a child into doing math or science work in his or her free time, reading is a different story.

As soon as your child can read, he or she should always be reading something. As long as you find the subject matter appropriate, allow your child to read whatever he wants in his free time. Develop the habit at a young age of getting your child to always have a book on the go. By finding books that your child enjoys, your child will, from a young age, associate reading with a fun experience, which will do wonders for his further education.

You must also understand how important it is to set your own example. Try and set time aside during the day in which you read, and in the evening hours, when most children would be watching television, sit down with your child and read together. When it gets close to the child’s bedtime, imply that you will be going to be soon as well – because you have a good book to read.

Reading is a fantastic educational opportunity because it is the basis for which your child will learn many other things. When a child is reading a book they are not only bettering their reading skills, they are becoming privy to knowledge contained within the book. It is important that reading begins at a young age because mastering it is a slow process, and you will be doing your child a serious disservice later in life if you choose not to focus on reading early.

Every education should be well rounded of course, but reading is a building block from which other education follows. When homeschooling your child, encourage him or her to read from a young age. If you so do you stand a good chance of instilling a lifelong habit that will benefit your child until the end of his days.

Developing Reading Skills When Homeschooling Your Child is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Biomass fuel is also known as Bio-fuel. Bio-fuel is defined as liquid, solid or gaseous fuel that consists of biomass. Biomass fuels can be used for generating power and also for heating purposes.

Biomass fuels can help greatly in reducing the various greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time can increase energy security by being an alternative to fossil fuels. Today, you will find expansion of bio-fuel industries in Asia, Europe, and America.

Bio-fuels are most commonly used in automotive transport like the E10 fuel. They can easily be produced from any source containing carbon like plants. Biomass is mostly derived from living organisms, which includes animals, plants, and their by-products. Manure, crop residues and garden waste are some of the different sources of biomass. This is a renewable energy source that is associated to the carbon cycle as compared to various natural resources like coal, petroleum, and nuclear energy.

Some of the most popular agricultural products that are grown for the purpose of creating Bio-fuel in the United States are soybeans and corn while Europe uses wheat, rapeseed and sugar beet; sugar cane is grown in Brazil, Jatropha in India and palm oil in South-East Asia.

In the early part of 2007, Diversified Energy Corporation with the help of North Carolina State University (NCSU) geared itself for a breakthrough in biofuel technology, which has been named Centia. Centia has been positioned for producing military and commercial jet fuel and can even act as a biodiesel additive in cold or freezing weather. The process of developing Centia looks promising and is expected to deliver a high energy efficiency level that can be in excess of 85%.

There are a wide variety of scientific experiments being conducted, globally, to produce a viable bio-fuel that will be efficient and environmentally friendly. Scientists have started to look beyond the bio-fuels and started to work on the various byproducts of bio-fuel that can be used and even consumed as food in our daily lives.

Considered as an integral part of the green revolution, bio-fuels offer quite a few advantages over other fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. Bio fuels have the ability to recycle carbon dioxide with every growing season by getting it from the air to convert it into biomass. So unlike coal, which upon burning releases carbon, biomass in a way traps all the carbon that is in the air. This is an important aspect from the point of view of global warming because it doesnt release any carbon components into the air. The biggest advantage over conventional fuel is that bio-fuel is renewable and hence they will not deplete the limited natural resources of our planet.
Common Biomass Fuels
Here is a list of some of the most common first generation Biomass fuels:

Vegetable oil
Vegetable oil is used for cooking food and also as a fuel. Vegetable oil is not high quality oil for fuel use but it is still used in older diesel engines, which are equipped with an indirect injection system.

In most of the cases, vegetable oil is used for manufacturing bio-diesel that is compatible with most of the diesel engines. It is normally blended with conventional diesel fuel for optimum efficiency.

Bio-diesel
Bio-diesel is one of the most common Bio-fuels in Europe. It is produced mainly from fats or oils using the process of trans-esterification. It is a liquid that has a similar composition like that of mineral diesel. The chemical name for bio-diesel is fatty acid methyl ester (FAME).

The oil is mixed with methanol or ethanol and sodium hydroxide, which initiates a chemical reaction to produce glycerol and bio-diesel (FAME). The process produces 1 part of glycerol per 10 parts of bio-diesel.

Bio-diesel is extensively used in diesel engines after it is blended with mineral diesel. Some countries like Germany have manufacturers Volkswagen, who provide a cover on their diesel engines as a part of their warranty for 100% bio-diesel use.

A majority of vehicle manufacturers still limit to use of 15% bio-diesel blended with mineral diesel. In some of the European countries, 5% bio-diesel blend is widely used and even available at gas stations

Bio-ethanol
Ethanol is one of the most common Bio-fuels across the world. It is also known as an alcohol fuel and is produced by fermenting sugars, which are derived from corn, wheat, sugar cane and sugar beet. The various production methods for ethanol are fermentation of the sugars, enzymatic digestion, distillation and drying.

The use of Ethanol has been widely seen in petrol engines where it replaces gasoline. Almost all the petrol engines in the world can run on 15% blends of bio-ethanol with gasoline.

With an eye on the diminishing natural resources, its time for us to usher in the bio-fuel era!

Bio-Fuels: The Fuel Of The Future is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Monday

I login to WebCT, my schools online course software, to pick up my weekly email from the course’s instructor. She details the assignments we need to complete this week, discussions to post, and includes a review for an upcoming test. While the list of assignments due this week is available in the syllabus on WebCT, I appreciate having this weekly reminder of what I need to complete this week.

I notice that new grades have been posted on some of the prior assignments I have already turned in. I am pleased with the result and note comments that she has made for future reference.

Tuesday

Today, I pulled open the book and read the assigned chapter. I used sticky notes to mark important sections that I might need for a test later. Some people prefer to mark in the book directly with highlighters, but I prefer stickies. There is also a Powerpoint presentation with 30 slides.

Wednesday

There is a video I need to watch. It is available online or I can pull it off the cd the professor provided at the beginning of the course. Since I have a high-bandwidth connection, I download and stream it directly from WebCT.

Thursday thru Saturday

These days I tend to work on my other course or not at all. As a consummate procrastinator, I tend to put the written assignments off until Sunday, or Saturday if they are extensive. I do read the assignments on Monday so that I can at least be thinking about them as I drive to and from work or have other down time.

Sunday

I prepare my written assignment(s). Then I go into WebCT into the appropriate assignment and upload the Word document with the professor’s naming convention. After the upload, the assignment is marked submitted and I receive a confirmation email that I was successful.

My final duty is to prepare an answer to a “discussion question of the week” in the WebCT bulletin board for this course. I scan through the prior postings and reply to an interesting one. Finally, I post my answer to the question and submit it. I review the schedule for next week to prepare myself for the following week. Another week complete.

I have taken a number of course from UNT through WebCT and others through other systems that the University provides. The University is only 30 miles away so I take face-to-face classes as well, because I really like the interaction of a class. I like both methodologies. You may prefer one or the other, you won’t know till you try.

A week in the life of an online student is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

Consider various teaching options. As a parent, you can often homeschool your child on your own or you may enlist the help of a professional tutor, which is a private teacher who typically teaches one child or a small group of children. In some cases, a child may also participate in independent study programs that are made available through a school.

Make sure the curriculum is approved. If you plan to homeschool your child, you will need to request a curriculum package containing an approved course of study. Its important that parents make sure the program they use to educate their child is one thats approved by their state and/or board of education.

Make learning fun. In order for a child to get the most benefit from homeschooling, many believe that visits to the library, museums and other cultural outings can help the student to learn more effectively. This is one of the reasons why public schools often participate in field trips, which allow the children to see a location up close and personal as it relates to their program of study.

Prepare your child for college. Studies have shown that children who learn at home are just as likely to attend a higher learning institution as other students, which means parents who participate in homeschooling will need to prepare their youngster for this change. A homeschooled child who wishes to apply for college must submit a copy of his/her ACT or SAT test scores. As for transcripts, children who gained their education at home may submit records from their supervising high school or correspondence course.

Get everything in writing. As a parent who wishes to homeschool your child, you are required to file the appropriate paperwork with either a local or state education agency. For more information on this topic, you can consult with your countys board of education or your schools principal. The name and age of the student must be given, along with lesson plans in some cases. Currently, parents are not required to have a teaching certificate in order to educate their child at home, but its important to check with your states laws regarding homeschooling as they may vary by state.

One final note: It is very important for home schooled children to be properly socialized with other children. Playing with kids their own age they can learn valuable social skills that will help them become more successful later in life.

The information contained in this article is designed to be used for reference purposes only. It should not be used as, in place of or in conjunction with professional legal or educational advice relating to homeschooling and/or the laws relating to this subject. For more information, consult with your local or state education agency.

5 Important Tips To Homeschooling is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site

The funny thing about what everyone knows is that everyone can be wrong. For instance, everybody thinks that the America’s Cup is an ocean-sailing race, and yet the Swiss managed to win the Cup. For those readers who are geographically-challenged, Switzerland is a land-locked country comprised entirely of mountains.

What does this have to do with ball bearings. Very little, I suspect, but balls have very little to do with ball bearings, either. Ball bearings look more like hula hoops. But don’t try using them for that you will find them inconveniently heavy and painfully small.

You can view a picture of a ball bearing in the middle of this ball bearing supplier’s page.

So what are those stunted metal tube donuts called ball bearings for anyway? Are they used as a spare wheel? Do they hold in evil shop-floor spirits? No, they help things move more efficiently. In an early demonstration of bearing usage, three ladies pulled a locomotive (It was just a demonstration, not a career development).

Many bearings look very similar, whether they are ball bearings, roller bearings or other bearings. What?! Other bearings?

What is a ball bearing, anyway?

Ball bearings are formed with an outer ring, an inner ring, a cage or a retainer inside, and a rolling element inside, typically a ball (which is why they are called ball bearings). Roller bearings are formed using a roller instead of a ball, which is why they are called roller bearings (Yes, finally something that makes sense!). Other bearings look just like metal tubes, called plain bearings or bush bearings. They look like sawed off pipe or tube (something my metal tube bending client would be turning into architecturally glamorous structural supports).

The principle of bearings is the same principle behind the wheel: things move better by rolling than by sliding. They are called “bearings” because they bear the weight of the object, such as an inline skate or the head of dentist’s drill, allowing the object to glide over them with incredible ease and speed. Unlike wheels, they don’t turn on an axel; they turn on themselves.

You can see this in action with some great cut-away pictures of bearings.

The balls or rollers spin on themselves inside the bearing, reducing friction for the machine parts attached to them. It’s much neater than using a bucket of oil, especially in dental equipment, and significantly more reliable than hamsters on a wheel.

Once upon a time, all bearings were metal like a metal tube or pipe with metal balls stuck inside. These days, more and more are made of ceramic or even plastic (like everything else in this world!).

If you are still confused about why ball bearings are not shaped like balls, just remember that you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway. And you can even try sailing your sea-craft through the Swiss Alps. But don’t try playing a game of one-on one basketbearing.

Ball Bearings Are Flat Another Myth Crushed is a post from: Committe 4 Justice Education Site